


she was a punk, he did ballet

by unbelievably62



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, ballet!bow, punk!glimmer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26947726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbelievably62/pseuds/unbelievably62
Summary: University brings about a lot of firsts for Bow and Glimmer: their first separation from each other in eleven years, Glimmer's first invitation to Bow's ballet performance.And her first realisation that her feelings for him may run deeper than she'd expected.Only heaven knows how many more firsts are to come.
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	she was a punk, he did ballet

**Author's Note:**

> so! the whole reason why this even popped up was because i was super inspired by this [tumblr post](https://chaotic-catra.tumblr.com/post/630692388776673280/she-was-a-punk-he-did-ballet) lol which led to a lot of rambly thoughts - and so what was an innocent, light-hearted post turned into...this. hahaha so thank you very much to chaotic-catra on tumblr for the bout of inspiration <3
> 
> i'm kind of winging this as i go along - i have a vague idea of the whole story progression but nothing much beyond that, so we shall see what happens! kind of scary but i would get too stressed otherwise! 
> 
> also this is the first time i'm attempting to write something with a proper storyline, so let's see how this goes too! lol 
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Glimmer slumps back against her chair with a frustrated groan. 

"What the _hell_ is he even trying to say!" she exclaims to no one in particular. It's the third bloody time she's read this paragraph, and she still has no idea what the author’s main point is. 

"Bloody academia people. Academians. Academicians. Whatever the hell they're called," she continues grumbling, her empty room answering her with unhelpful silence. 

As much as 'Society and Disorder' had seemed like a fun elective module to take this semester, she had completely forgotten about the stupid amount of readings that an arts module would require. Thank goodness the rest of her first semester in university has been a blast so far. 

Although, if she's honest, there's someone missing that would have made uni life a lot more of a blast than it currently is. 

Her phone vibrates with a message, and her face lights up as she glances at her screen. Speak of the devil. 

_Bow: hey! ready when you are :))_

She hurriedly types in a response. 

_yes me too!! you can call me now_

She grabs her laptop and scrambles onto her bed, settling herself among her pillows. She then viciously stabs the 'exit' button for her cursed reading and soon gets a Facetime notification from Bow. 

She accepts the call immediately. 

"Hey, Glimmer!!" His jubilant face fills up her screen as he starts waving frantically. 

"Hey!!" she returns, her hand flapping in the air equally frantically. 

They both laugh at how stupid they look. 

"I'm not sure why we're so excited every time, we call each other like, every week!" 

"I know! But I just really miss you." She pouts. "It's a really big change. Seeing each other every day to just one Facetime call every week."

His smile turns wry as he sighs. "I know…but life’s too busy now to call more than once a week."

"Well, nobody asked you to get into the flipping Bright Moon Dance Academy and all!" she exclaims with a teasing grin. It's become their own little bit by now, after 15 weeks of calling each other regularly. 

She teases him, but in truth, she couldn't be prouder of her best friend. Her bestest best friend. While her dream had been to pursue a business degree and set up her own independent enterprise, his had been to become a professional ballerino. They've been friends since they were 8, and he's been going to ballet classes outside of school for as long as she can remember. And now he's studying in one of the country's top ballet academies. _Of course_ she's proud of him! 

Although some days _did_ feel noticeably more difficult now that she didn't have him by her side. Sure, they texted pretty regularly and they had a video call schedule. But it doesn’t feel exactly the same - spending time with him in person versus seeing him through a screen. A lot of things have changed. 

Bow's laugh brings her back to the present. She grins even wider. Hearing his laugh is a treat, and now that she's only got one chance a week to hear it, she's going to savour it as much as she can. 

"Anyway, how's your finals revisions going?" he asks.

Glimmer groans. "Ugh, don't even ask! I'm going to die!" 

She gets a chuckle out of him, even as he raises his eyebrows at her.

She sighs. "Okay, fine. Maybe not so bad that I wanna die. It's definitely very different from high school, but I guess on the whole they're going alright."

"Hey, that's great!"

"Oh my gosh, except for bloody 'Society and Disorder'!"

His face scrunches up at the look of despair on her face. "Uh...do I wanna know about 'Society and Disorder'?" 

And that is her cue to launch into a long, long rant about her module, which leaves Bow equal parts sympathetic and amused. 

Glimmer waves a hand distractedly at the end of it. "Okay, but enough about me, what about you? How's school been?" 

They spend a good chunk of time filling each other in on what’s developed over the past week. They talk about the routine he's been practicing for his final assessment, and then about her professor who forgot about their last lecture and just ended up emailing them the slides instead. And then they move on to other topics besides school, like the new cafe that opened up in their neighbourhood (well, technically, Bow’s neighbourhood now that Glimmer’s moved out to stay on campus) and the new music Glimmer's punk band has been writing. 

It's a bit more difficult coordinating the band now that Glimmer's three hours away from home, but they're making it work. Besides these few months being the longest she's been away from Bow, it's also the longest she's been away from her beloved drums. Understandably, she couldn't have transported them to her dorm room or else she'd have been kicked out within the first week due to noise complaints. 

Bow clears his throat. "Oh hey, Glim, are you coming back during the winter break?" 

"Yeah, if all goes to plan. Why?" She smirks. "Miss me too much already?" 

"Um..." He suddenly looks uncharacteristically shy, looking away from the screen and not meeting her gaze.

Huh. Glimmer would know that look anywhere. Bow's nervous about something. It usually appears whenever Glimmer suggests something semi-dangerous or illegal, but given the sedate nature of their current conversation, it's kind of an interesting phenomenon. 

"Hey, Bow, is everything okay?"

He startles. "Huh? Uh yeah. It's just- well…" He takes a deep breath. "I was just wondering if you wanted to watch my recital? We're putting up a public performance after our finals, and I was wondering if you'd be in town. And if you were back home then- maybe, would you be interested to watch?" he lets out in a rush. He tries to meet her gaze, although his eyes are still flitting around nervously. 

Glimmer blinks, pleasantly surprised. He's never invited her to any of his recitals before. His previous ballet school had always held their yearly recitals in small venues, limiting ticket availability to the students' parents. He'd explained this to her one year, feeling absolutely forlorn that he couldn't offer his best friend a ticket to his performance. She'd laughed it off, reassuring him with a smile that it was okay, really, and that she understood. 

She laughs excitedly now. "Bow! Of course I'd love to watch! I'll finally be able to watch you in action." She claps her hands in delight. 

He noticeably heaves a sigh of relief, which turns into a bright smile. "Great!" 

"Was that all?"

He nods.

Glimmer giggles. "Aww, why were you so nervous?" 

He rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks starting to turn a light pink. "Oh...well...I don't know. I know classical music isn't really your thing, let alone ballet. Like, you've got your punk band thing and well, ballet isn't exactly the most...'screw the establishment and be yourself' thing in the world. So I was worried you might, like, turn your nose up at it or think it was dumb or something," he replies, somewhat sheepishly. 

She clicks her tongue at him. "Just because I happen to do that kind of music doesn't mean I still can't try to appreciate the more classical stuff!" 

"I know, I know! But there was always the possibility. And I guess I also felt a bit...guilty? Like, you're always inviting me to your gigs and stuff and I always have lots of fun but I've never really invited you to watch my stuff."

"Bow! I’ve already told you, that wasn't your fault! Anyway, I would have punched you back then if you'd tried to give the seats to me instead of your dads."

He laughs, and Glimmer smiles at the sight of his earlier nervousness melting away just like that. She mentally pats herself on the back. 

Bow then holds up a finger. "Okay, but I warn you, it won't be as, like, wild as your gigs or our usual Taylor Swift concerts are. It's all sitting down, and like really quiet and stuff. I won't blame you if you fall asleep halfway."

She sighs, slightly exasperated at him now. "Bow, stop trying to downplay your recital. I know it'll be really different, I'm aware of that." She smiles gently. "I'd go through anything just to be able to watch my best friend living his life, doing what he's always loved to do on the stage. And that best friend is you, by the way, in case you missed that somewhere." She chuckles lightly. 

She's met with a warm, pleased smile from Bow. "Really?" 

She nods. "Really. This whole thing is your dream! Of course I will do anything to support you. I've always got your back." Her voice has turned soft now, emotions she can't name suddenly threatening to overwhelm her. 

Bow is silent for a while, seemingly studying her face through his screen. Eventually, he replies, his voice quiet but sure. "I've always got your back too. And I'll always support you." He's smiling gently, but some part of his face is unreadable. It's a bit strange. 

There's silence for a moment, though it doesn't seem like one of their usual comfortable silences. No, for some reason this silence seems heavier, as though the way they were looking at each other was supposed to say something else. Something more.

Glimmer clears her throat. "Anyway!" she says with forced joviality. "Yeah, just send me the link when you've got the time, I'll buy the tickets straight away. Pinky promise. I'll even send you the screenshot of my order confirmation."

He seems to have been shaken out of his weird daze too, as he now grins toothily at her. "Okay." He glances at the clock on his wall, and then grimaces. "Oh shoot, I gotta go now. Got a long day tomorrow."

She looks at the time displayed on the corner of her screen, and is shocked to see that they've been talking for 2 hours. 

"Oh no, okay yeah! Same time next week?"

"Yep."

"Okay, bye Bow. Night night!"

He smiles. "Night night, Glim." 

And then the call ends.

Glimmer sinks back into her pillows with a sigh. That was nice. Talking to Bow was always nice. Well, except for that weird bit near the end. She still isn't sure what that was about. But maybe she'd imagined it all. Maybe it hadn't actually been all that strange and she was just the one being weird about it in her head. 

She's startled from her contemplation when her phone vibrates with a message. 

_Bow: here's the link to the tickets! oh, and i forgot to tell you that there's a formal dress code haha oops_

Glimmer clicks on the link and groans. She knows she's got nothing in her closets, either here or at home, that would be appropriate for the posh concert hall she sees on the page. 

She sighs. Looks like she's got to go shopping. The one thing she hates more than 'Society and Disorder'.

**Author's Note:**

> up next: the ballet performance!
> 
> i recently hopped back onto tumblr after a long time away, so feel free to scream about spop / glimbow with me there too, if that's more your jam! i'm [notlighthope](https://notlighthope.tumblr.com/) on tumblr :) 
> 
> work and chapter title adapted from Avril Lavigne's "sk8ter boi"


End file.
